I used to think Titleist clubs were aimed at the 'better golfer', but over recent years things have changed and they now seem to target the 'dedicated golfer'.
This means that the target market has grown, although I thin it's far to say it is still probably smaller in comparison to the numbers that some of the other major manufacturers cater for.
In my eyes, Titleist irons are for those members at your golf club who take lessons, play at least a couple of times a week and like to invest money in making sure they've got great quality equipment. They have aspirations to improve and if they aren't playing golf, then they're watching it.
The T-Series irons, first released in 2019, are now in their second generation, and this year sees the relaunch of the T100, T100s, T200 and T300 irons. Here at Golfalot, we're excited to get in and test these beauties...
What's It All About?
Titleist say that the inspiration behind the new T-Series irons was to further their progress in producing the best irons in the world, and this is achieved thanks to new materials, new process and new refinements which deliver more precision than in the previous range.
The T100 model is said to be 'the modern Tour iron' which is aimed at better players, from elite to low and perhaps even some mid-handicappers, looking for a combination of both control and feel when approaching the green.
Played by more tour pro's than any other iron in the world, the T100 irons found their way into the bag of Jordan Spieth at The Open Championship as he finished runner up, presenting a good start to life for Titleist's most popular model.
There's a blade-like look at address, with a thin topline and minimal offset, and this combines with a traditional loft configuration to add to the classical setup.
One of the main new enhancements for the T100 range is a variable bounce sole. This comes as a result of work from the R&D team along with the Vokey Tour team, leading to more bounce being added to the toe of the club, with reduced bounce in the heel.
This is particularly useful in the shorter 'scoring' irons of the set and has been designed to improve turf interaction. Titleist say that its Tour players have raved about how quick the irons feel through the turf, as well as the versatility of the irons from a variety of different lies.
The irons have a forged, dual cavity construction with D18 tungsten weighting added to the heel and toe of the 3-7 irons in order to enable precise CG placement and improve stability and MOI.
There are no face inserts in the T100 irons, with the continuous face construction providing a seamless striking area with a more uniform leading edge to increase control.
The T100s is said to provide the 'same Tour shape, only faster' and is aimed at golfers who want the look and feel of a Tour iron whilst also gaining a bit of extra distance.
This is achieved by cranking the lofts of each iron up by 2 degrees, as well as introducing a new Muscle Channel. This frees up weight and allows for a lower Centre of Gravity to be offered in each iron compared to the previous T100s irons, promoting higher launch and increased ball speed without affecting the feel compared to the T100.
A new brushed chrome finish on both the T100 and T100 is derived from direct feedback from Tour players as it provides the desired clean look in the bag as well as reducing glare at address - the ideal 'summer' finish for bright days...
The Test
I visited the brand new Titleist Performance Centre at Woburn Golf Club, where I sat through an in-depth presentation, was fitted for the irons and then tested them using Trackman 4 and Titleist Pro V1x balls out on the freshly cut turf.
If you do want the ultimate experience then make sure you book into the Performance Centre. It’s not cheap at £500 for 3 hours but it is the best in Europe.
You can watch my full review via the Golfalot YouTube channel here:
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Titleist T100 Irons Review
Looks and Feel
The T100 irons feature a new brushed steel finish which I am a massive fan of. It just looks a little cleaner at the back, whilst still retaining the same great look at address.
There is a greater continuity from the sole to the top edge at the back of the iron head in this year's edition. The Titleist logo is more subtle and the back of the head is softer and more blade-like
The head is a step up in milling and the design looks even better than the original T100 in my opinion. Jordan Spieth seems to agree too, describing it as "Just very simple - stays looking almost like a blade with the forgiveness of a cavity back".
Titleist have worked hard to improve turf interaction and I have to say it feels consistent and smooth in the strike. This variable bounce design is visible on the leading edge, with a slight curve in the shorter irons.
This is a major talking point at the moment. TaylorMade star Collin Morikawa had to change irons from the P730 blade to the P7MC ahead of The Open Championship, as the different sole geometry provided better turf interaction.
This clearly worked for Collin, although Jordan Spieth was able to stick with T100 from long iron all the way down during their first appearance in the bag at Royal St George's, and that very nearly won him the Claret Jug.
Performance
One third of the weight in these irons is made up of tungsten, the most of any manufacturer, although it is placed in all the right places across the back and bottom of the head to aid both launch and stability.
'Lovely' is the best word I can find to describe these irons, although I will warn you that they are a little spinny too. With a 7 iron I was averaging 7100 rpm, which is around where old-school golfers would say that a 7 iron should sit.
My good strikes were peaking at 126 yards of carry, with average strikes coming in at closer to 120 yards. This is around half a club down on what I would ideally like but I expected that given the lofts.
I hit fades and little baby for days with these irons. They looked and felt great, although with the speed and compression that my swing produces I could really do with a little more performance if they were to find a spot in my bag - if only there was stronger version...
Titleist T100S Irons Review
Looks and Feel
Looks-wise the T100s is identical to the T100, albeit with 2 degrees stronger loft in each irons. However these clubs have not just been cranked in the vice, they have been engineered specifically with this stronger loft and developed to increase ball speed.
The ball instantly felt quicker off the face when I started to test them on the range, with the same fantastic turf interaction as with the standard T100 model. I really enjoyed hitting balls with these irons and quickly started to feel like 'these could be the ones'.
Performance
Titleist say that with the T100s you should increase your ball speed by 2mph but with 90g of tungsten added then the peak height, launch and land angle should be the exact same as the standard T100. Essentially then - you're getting the same ball flight and control but with a little more distance should you need it.
This was certainly the case when I was hitting 7 irons, with my ball speed averaging 101mph compared to 97mph with the T100. I did swing the club around 1mph faster on average with the T100s, which will also add to the ball speed increase.
As expected with a stronger lofted club the spin rates were lower (around 500rpm less), and I even had one shot which was right down in game-improvement iron territory at 5500rpm! Having said that the land angle was pretty much identical to the T100 as Titleist suggested it would be, meaning that your ball should still stop on the the green nice and quickly.
My shots were carrying around 9 yards further with an average of 135 yards, which is pretty good for me with a compact 7 iron like this and I was also confident that the would give me the control I need going into the greens.
I absolutely loved them and I felt like I was hitting them better and better as time went on, whilst my front-back and left-right dispersion also seemed a little tighter than with the T100 which was reassuring.
These clubs were made for golfers like me - those who want the feel of a blade or a tour cavity iron, but crave the extra distance.
Titleist T100 and T100S Irons Verdict
The Titleist T100 irons are used by Jordan Spieth, who in my opinion is the third best iron player on the planet after Collin Morikawa and Tiger Woods. Spieth had so much confidence in the new irons that they went straight into the bag for his runner-up finish, and when asked about them he said "I joke around saying I am not good enough to play blades, but in reality I think we are just being smarter".
I think this says a lot when it comes from a player who is as good as Spieth - he's suggesting that you can hit all of the same shots as you would with a blade, but with the added bit of help for those slight mis-hits.
Considering that I wasn't completely convinced by the first generation of the T100s irons as I couldn't get the desired launch to optimise my carry distance, I was really impressed by the upgrades to the model and it ended up being my favourite iron of the whole range this time around.
When I reviewed the T100s back in 2020 I didn't find too much difference between it and the standard T100, but this time it felt much more noticeable. My bad shots certainly seemed to be receiving a little more help, possibly due to all of the new tungsten weighting being placed in the right area.
My love for these irons was confirmed when I looked into Adam Scott's bag at The Open and spotted that he was using the T100 in both a 2 and 3 iron!
Who Are They Aimed At?
The T100 is the most popular iron model on the PGA Tour so there's your answer - they're built with elite players in mind.
I was interested to hear that 25% of the sales in the T100 line were actually for the T100s model, which perhaps explains why Titleist have released the products at the same time this year. If you want the look and feel that these irons offer, but with a little more distance then I'd suggest that you go for the T100s.
I'd compare these irons to the Callaway Apex TCB and TaylorMade P7MC irons used by Jon Rahm and Collin Morikawa, so if you're in the market for a 'tour cavity' iron then the T100 should definitely be on your list to try.
Would I Use Them?
I'd certainly use the T100s irons at the moment as I'm really looking for something that feels great in my current climate of non-competitive golf, rather than solely focusing on performance.
This does mean that I'm probably giving up around half a club compared to where I'd usually expect a 7 iron to go, but for the time being that's a price worth paying for the looks and feel you get.
I also took some time to test out the longer irons and was impressed that they felt no harder to hit than the 7 iron, so you shouldn't have to worry too much at the top end of the bag either.
T100 Pros
- 'Traditional' spin rates are reassuring
- Looks are an improvement on the previous T100
- Easier to hit than you'd think
T100 Cons
- Don't expect to get much help with distance
T100S Pros
- Does exactly what Titleist suggests compared to T100
- Doesn't look 'cranked' despite the stronger lofts
- Higher launch and landing angle
- Easier to hit than you'd think
T100S Cons
- I couldn't find any during my testing - let me know in the comments below if you find any!
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TaylorMade P7MC Irons Review
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